Josh Allen describes getting stuck in Chicago originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
After the Bills defeated the Bears, 35-13, on Christmas Eve at Soldier Field, they ran into trouble making it home for the holidays.
“The game had just ended,” Allen started on ESPN’s Kyle Brandt’s Basement. “We’re in the locker room and typically coach will break it down right away. He wasn’t there right away and I think guys were like ‘Okay, we understand what’s going on.’ The organization was doing everything in their power to get us home safely because our families, our friends are here in Buffalo. Obviously, the holidays are a special time you want to spend with them.”
Unfortunately, the Bills were unable to fly out of Chicago on the night of Christmas Eve due to horrid weather conditions in Western New York that saw an unbelievable amount of snow over the holiday weekend. In turn, the Bills were forced to spend the night in Chicago while they awaited safer conditions to fly back.
However, one Bills coach was ready with a plan for the night’s festivities while the Bills awaited their venture back home.
“Chad Hall, our receivers coach, had talked to me right after the game. He was like ‘Hey, I know a few people that are connected and have a bar here in Chicago that we could potentially go to.’ So I called Barstool Big Cat. He hooked me up with the owner and we figured out a way to get a few people in and serve for us,” Allen said.
After a couple of calls, the Bills found shelter for the night in the form of the Barstool Bar in River North.
The Bills had themselves a night out on the town. And Allen, who proclaims he’s familiar with working a bar from experience in his household, tended the bar for the team while they recovered from the win.
“Little short-staffed, so I had to help out in any way that I could,” Allen said.
He crossed off a bucket list item of his, using the hose for fountain drinks while helping serve the team. Allen mentioned his favorite drink at the moment is bourbon neat, which he has at his disposal at his house in Buffalo.
After a night on the town, the Bills were able to fly back home on Christmas morning, where they were greeted by an innumerable amount of Bills fans at the airport.
“When we landed the next day in Rochester, seeing a bunch of Bills fans there was pretty cool,” Allen said.
Also greeting the team at the airport was an abundance of snow on their cars from the storm that trampled over Buffalo.
The players’ cars were covered with snow. Videos from the team’s departures from the parking lot went viral on social media. One player drove his car out of the parking lot with, as Brandt described, “a glacier.”
“I saw that video yesterday. I want to think that’s Matt Milano maybe. I could send you a couple of pictures of my car right now,” Allen said.
Despite the travel delays, spur-of-the-moment bar hop, and snowed-over cars, Allen ascertains spirits were high after the Bills clinched the AFC East division title for the third year in a row.
“It was a really fun night that we tried to keep the vibes high and keep our minds off of what was going on,” Allen said. “I appreciate those guys for opening it up for us, the owner there, and helping us have a good time.”
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